


Let us Linger

by littlecakes



Series: for my heart wears but a crown of flowers [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Polyship Roadtrip (Final Fantasy XV), Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 12:44:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15886311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlecakes/pseuds/littlecakes
Summary: The chocobros decide to take a day off. Gladio and Prompto spend it in a field of flowers.





	Let us Linger

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second installment of my flower crown series. The poem used for inspiration for this piece is called "Flower of Love" and it's by Claude McKay. It's short, so I posted it below.
> 
> The perfume of your body dulls my sense.   
> I want nor wine nor weed; your breath alone   
> Suffices. In this moment rare and tense   
> I worship at your breast. The flower is blown,   
> The saffron petals tempt my amorous mouth,   
> The yellow heart is radiant now with dew   
> Soft-scented, redolent of my loved South;   
> O flower of love! I give myself to you.   
> Uncovered on your couch of figured green,   
> Here let us linger indivisible.   
> The portals of your sanctuary unseen   
> Receive my offering, yielding unto me.   
> Oh, with our love the night is warm and deep!   
> The air is sweet, my flower, and sweet the flute   
> Whose music lulls our burning brain to sleep,   
> While we lie loving, passionate and mute. 

There’s a field just outside of the Nebulawood that’s filled with flowers. Big, beautiful flowers, ones like Gladio has never seen before, little ones that remind him of home and the vendors on the street, fragrant ones named for his sister. It’s never been this beautiful, not in the weeks they’ve spent circling it in the Regalia, but it’s been raining for days. He thought it would never end, but here they are, in this huge field of flowers with petals turned upward to greet the sun.

“Beautiful,” Ignis says, his voice filled with awe.

“It’s nice,” Noctis says with a smile.

They have a brief moment of silence before the two are absorbed in the day’s plans. Ignis is bent on the idea of hunting down just a few more frogs for Sania to inspect, and all Noctis wants to do is fish at that nearby lake. Gladio’s not paying attention, though. Not to them, at least. He’s busy watching a certain blonde waltz through the flowers, and the sight reminds him of an old movie he once watched with a woman who danced through a clearing just like this one.

He wants to chase him into that field of flowers. Bring him down among the sweet blooms, just to taste that salty, sweet skin, to feel chapped lips brush his in an act of adoration as they hide among their long stems, like one of those romance novels he’s hiding in the pocket of Prompto’s backseat. They could spend all day here and it would be a day well-spent.

“Why don’t we just take it easy?” Gladio says, smirking at Ignis and Noctis. “Could just hang out here all day.”

“We’ve things to do, Gladio. We need to make ends meet, you know.” Ignis says, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. “Right, Noct?”

There’s no reply. Now Noctis is watching too as Prompto crouches among the infinite blooms to pluck one from the ground and give it a smell. The yellow of the petals swallow his face, and brush his cheeks like a gentle kiss. There’s a wistful smile growing across the Prince’s face. Gladio knows Noctis is just as weak for seeing Prompto drenched in bliss as he is right now. An environment as picturesque as this one is bound to put a smile on the photographer’s face.

“I dunno. We could stay here awhile. Relax a bit. It’s so nice outside,” Noctis says, stretching his arms and putting his hands behind his head. “Could take a nap right here.”

Ignis sighs. “Very well, Highness. Care to help me prepare lunch?”

“I’ll help you get the stuff,” Noctis says. Gladio follows, only to grab the ratty blanket they keep in the trunk. It’ll be perfect for laying on in the sun, enjoying its warmth while they spend a blissful afternoon doing absolutely nothing important. Its age has made the wool soft to the touch yet strong with years of felting. Gladio grabs it, a book, and Prompto’s camera bag before following behind Noctis and Ignis.

“Guys! It’s so freaking amazing out here!” Prompto exclaims. The flower he’s found is tucked behind his ear; the golden petals match the straw color of his hair. The gunner’s eyes light up at the sight of them traipsing across the flowered field with what seems like the promise of a day off. “Whatcha got?”

“His Highness suggested a lazy day in the flowers,” Ignis says. “And I’m not one to complain about a beautiful day spent in such good company.”

“Yes! Noct! This is a great idea!” Prompto says, bouncing over to the prince, whose ivory cheeks are tinged pink as Prompto wraps his arms around his neck. The two share a few chaste kisses as Ignis sets up the card table and camp stove.

“I mean, I’m loving getting the credit for this idea,” Noctis says between kisses. “But it was Gladio who suggested it.”

“And I’m ready for credit where credit is due,” Gladio says, stretching his arms out. Prompto knows the drill, they do this all the time. They all may belong to each other, but Prompto was Gladio’s first, and Gladio’s heart belonged to Prompto long before all of this started. It’s only natural that Prompto hops into Gladio’s arms to adorn his face with kisses.

“How does curry for lunch sound?” Ignis asks.

“Just put meat in mine, ok?” Noctis asks, hugging Ignis from behind as he peeks over his shoulder. “Don’t want peppers or veggies.”

“Noctis…”

They start squabbling and Gladio finds a convenient excuse to lay the blanket far from their little bubble of stubbornness. He lays his book out flat in front of him on the blanket; its worn, green cover is like silk under his scarred fingers. The pages warm quickly under the sun and the fragrance of old paper joins the sweet aroma of the flowers. It’s heaven, absolute heaven, to be outside on such a wonderful day, close to the ones he loves with a book in hand. Prompto flops down behind him and pats his stomach in invitation. Gladio wastes no time when he lays his head down on the gunner’s belly and his black tank top, warmed by the shining sun, is soft against his bearded cheek. Prompto’s holding his camera above his head, flipping through the dozens of shots he’s already taken of the beauty that surrounds them.

Gladio doesn’t know when exactly he fell asleep. His book is neatly set by his side, and the blanket’s folded over him. The gentle rise and fall of Prompto’s diaphragm under his head feels like the ocean’s tides. His body’s natural rhythm is lulling and soft, like a lullaby; Gladio turns his head to press his ear against Prompto’s chest just so he can listen to the steady beating of his heart. Closing his eyes and inhaling, he enjoys its sound. The gentle whisper of the wind passing through the flower’s colorful crowns and the sure beat of his lover’s heart is all the music he needs right now.

Prompto combs his fingers through Gladio’s hair with his free hand, folding his other arm beneath his head to prop himself up. Those violet irises, flecked with blue and purple alike, fall upon his amber visage and linger there as precise fingers delicately work through every tangle and snarl. Nails scrape against his scalp gently, dragging along as the blonde neatly arranges Gladio’s wild locks with care. A heavy, happy sigh rumbles through the shield as he stares back intently at his boyfriend.

He can’t help but think of everything that’s happened, how they all seemed to fall into place together as one. Gladio loves Iggy, and he loves Noct, but gods, does he  _ love _ Prompto. Laughter that’s crisp and clear as springwater, freckles that kiss and dot his skin in imperfect beauty, sweet words that spill from his lips when it’s just the two of them and they’re together like this… he loves it all. Gladio needs it, needs Prompto. He needs all of him, and any one of these wonderful fragments that combine to make up the spunky blonde wouldn’t do on its own.

It scares him sometimes, makes him a little jealous, to think that he has to share this imperfect perfection with two other people. There are lots of times he just wants Prompto to himself. But when they fall into place together, like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, and the seams touch perfectly and there’s no space between, Gladio knows what they all share together is something special. Something wonderful. He feels lucky just to know that they love him just as much as he loves them.

“Hey, chocobo,” Gladio mutters, propping himself up on an elbow so he can look down at the smile that’s radiating up at him, warmer than the sunlight that kisses his naked shoulders.

“What is it, Gladdy?” Prompto murmurs back to him, combing his fingers through his hair one last time before allowing his hand to drop to his stomach. Gladio leans over and cups Prompto’s face gingerly as he admires the freckles that scatter across his cheeks and nose. The blush that grows there at the focused attention from the shield is adorable and wonderful, a fantastic shade of rouge. Gladio kisses both pink-tinged cheeks before kissing Prompto’s full, soft lips. He lingers there, enjoying the taste and feel of him on his mouth.

Gladio only pulls away far enough to see long, blonde lashes swoop up against Prompto’s eyelids as he looks at him with a coy smile. “Nothin’. I just love you.”

“Gladio,” Prompto whispers, touching his face as he pulls him down for a swift, tender kiss. “I love you too.”

Gladio returns to lie against Prompto’s side, propping his head up against his firm stomach. He tilts his head to the side as he opens his book, so he can listen to the heart that’s fluttering in Prompto’s chest like a bird. It makes Gladio’s heart race too, to know that what they share is so deeply wrought within themselves that their bodies give in to their affections like this. Smiling, he tries his best to focus on the pages that lie before him.

In the end, he succumbs to the tranquility he’s found here, with Prompto’s body pressed against him, as he listens to gentle breezes whispering past flower petals and the beat of Prompto’s heart.


End file.
